pretty and sometimes strange old books and the world they live in

quote My fortune for you: “You will see many good signs, if you look for them.”

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”
― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Today is Chinese New Year, and for me, it is full of signs — Shakespeare’s light in the darkness, if you will.

Signs like this:

1. It is the last day of January. That’s got to be good.

2. We celebrate groundhog day this Sunday (February 2). It’s irrelevant whether Wiarton Willie sees his shadow (bad) or not (good). It means we’ve seen the back of winter.

3. The days are getting longer. We are getting more light.

4. The temperatures are slowly starting to climb — we will be close to zero in my part of the world this weekend.

5. My local $1 store is full of gnomes, sandbox toys and gardening supplies.

6. My seed catalogue arrived. (Seed growers are the most optimistic people I know).

7. The warmest of all celebrations — Valentine’s Day — is just two weeks away.

8. Spring is officially less than two months away (In 2014, spring begins with the vernal equinox on March 20 at 12:57 P.M. EDT.)

9. We celebrate the Chinese New Year, also known as the “Festival of Spring” in China. Time to do a bit of early Spring cleaning in order “to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck”. Hang a few lanterns, put out a bowl of fortune cookies, and enjoy.

Thanks for a wonderfully uplifting post in what has been a very tough winter. I didn’t realize the Chinese New Year was known as the “festival of spring” in China. That is very good to know. (Although I’m not putting my snow shovel away just yet . . .)